Elemental Power

by Rachel Morgan

  Dad nodded. “Yes, although I thought you might want to tell me first about that highly illegal book of conjurations that’s in your bag.”

  “Ah. That.”

  “That,” Dad said.

  Ridley glanced at Archer, then back at Dad. “There isn’t much to say except that I found it among a pile of old books in the store and decided to keep it and not tell you about it.”

  “Right.” Dad sighed. “This is the part where I should be shocked and horrified that you kept something so dangerous a secret from me, but … well …”

  “You’re totally not shocked and horrified,” Ridley supplied.

  “No. I’m thinking it could even be useful.” He placed his arm around her as they crossed the lobby. “It might contain some conjurations I don’t know.”

  “And it’s not highly illegal out here in the wastelands,” Archer pointed out.

  “Because there are no laws out here,” Ridley finished. Archer was walking on her left, and the back of his hand brushed briefly against hers. Warmth shot into her body from the point of contact, and for a moment, it seemed as though the glow of magic from her hands brightened. As they walked into the lounge behind the lobby, she focused on pulling the magic back inside her body.

  “Oh, I’m so glad you’re both okay,” Callie said, looking up from the couch she was lying across. In the wing-back armchair beside her, Malachi reclined, playing with the wisps of magic curling around his hands. The lounge was filled with numerous couches, armchairs and elegant chaise longues. A long bar stretched across one side of the room, and on the other, stood a grand piano. Situated around the edges of the room were large pots that presumably had once housed living plants. “It doesn’t look too bad in here,” Ridley commented. She could almost imagine they were back inside Lumina City’s walls, rather than out in the wastelands.

  “Yeah, except for the ten years’ worth of dust that crept in through whatever gap and crevice it could find,” Malachi said. He leaned toward the empty armchair beside him and smacked the cushion. A cloud of dust rose into the air.

  “Malachi,” Callie groaned. “Would you please not do that?” A dark shape separated itself from her side, and Ridley realized Ember had been curled up against her on the couch. The cat leaped gracefully to the floor and sauntered over to rub her head against Ridley’s legs.

  “We should probably keep the light to a minimum,” Dad said, removing his arm from around Ridley and striding forward. “It’s fine in here; there don’t seem to be any windows. But be careful in any of the exterior rooms. Just in case people are still out there searching for us.”

  “With this storm still going on?” Malachi said. As if to illustrate his point, a groan of thunder shuddered through the hotel. “I hope not,” he added. “They probably think we’re all dead by now.”

  “Probably, but we should still be careful,” Dad said.

  “Want to sit?” Archer asked Ridley, his hand landing lightly against the small of her back. An image of his arms encircling her as he pulled her tightly against his body while they stood beneath the pouring rain flashed through her mind. Her face grew warm, and she was thankful the only light in the room was the glow from Malachi’s magic. Stop being inappropriate! she mentally scolded her imagination.

  She cleared her throat and said, “Um, yes.” Walking forward, she noticed her backpack was on the floor in front of Callie’s couch. She crouched beside it, unzipped the top, and asked, “Anyone else hungry?”

  “Yeah, now that the arxium-induced nausea has passed,” Malachi said, “I’m famished.”

  “Me too,” Callie added.

  “Good thing we’re inside a hotel,” Malachi said. “Whatever canned food was here when the Cataclysm happened might still be good.”

  “Ten years later?” Callie asked, the doubt evident in her tone.

  “Don’t those things last forever?”

  “I can offer you an energy bar instead,” Ridley said, finally retrieving one from inside her backpack, which, fortunately, had lived up to its promise of being completely waterproof. “But that’s all I’ve got.”

  “Oh, yes please. Definitely.” Callie pushed herself up and scooted over to one side of the couch. “I’ll take one of those.”

  After passing around the energy bars, Ridley sat beside Archer in the spot Callie had vacated. Archer rested one arm along the back of the couch, and as the five of them discussed who would return to the city the following day to get supplies, Ridley did her best to ignore the heat along the back of her neck, and the fact that Archer’s leg was almost, almost touching hers, and the way he occasionally, surreptitiously, brushed his thumb across her shoulder.

  And failed. Of course.

  19

  After their dinner of energy bars—everything they found in the hotel’s pantry had expired years ago—Ember disappeared and everyone else went one floor up to the side of the hotel where there was minimal damage to the windows. The beds in most of the rooms were covered in dusty linen, which they removed and replaced with clean linen. Well, as clean as they could find in the hotel’s laundry, where things smelled musty and were covered in a very fine layer of dust.

  Ridley offered some of her dry clothes to Callie, but Callie searched the entire ground level of the hotel until she located a small shop containing clothes. It was filled mainly with bathing suits and fancy dresses, but she managed to find some articles of clothing that would be comfortable enough to sleep in. Then, since three of their party were elementals, it was easy for them to fill a basin or a bath with their magic and will it into water. “I never realized what a perk it would be to be able to produce water on demand,” Malachi said. “I’m appreciating my own magic more and more.”

  After saying goodnight to everyone, Ridley climbed beneath the covers of the bed in her very own Huntley Hotel bedroom and stared through the cracked window at the stormy night. Though not as violent as it had been when it began, the storm still tossed debris through the air, splattered rain against the windows, and sent blue flashes of magic darting between the ruins.

  After a minute or so of watching the storm, Ridley leaned down the side of the bed and slid her hand into her backpack. She removed the picture frame and placed it on her lap on top of the covers. Mindful of what Dad had said earlier about keeping light to a minimum, she made sure not to create any while her curtain was open. But there were so many flashes of lightning and magic outside that it wasn’t too hard to make out the picture in the frame. She looked at Mom and Dad with their dark hair and bright smiles, at her own young face and pigtails, her hair so light it was almost white. After brushing her fingers over the faces beneath the glass, she carefully returned the frame to her bag.

  “Ridley?”

  She turned swiftly at the sound of Archer’s voice, her pounding heart ridiculously happy to see him leaning around her partially open doorway. He’d also looked through the shop Callie had located downstairs, and he was now wearing the shorts and T-shirt he’d found there.

  “Yes?” Ridley asked, hating the way she sounded just a little bit breathless. “Is everything okay?”

  He smiled. “Don’t worry, everything’s fine. I just …” He stepped into the room and rubbed one hand along the back of his neck. “I missed you.”

  A shiver that had nothing to do with the ambient temperature raced across Ridley’s arms. She let out a quiet laugh. “You saw me ten minutes ago.”

  “Yes, but … we didn’t get a chance earlier to properly talk about … this.” He gestured to the space between them.

  She pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile. “So you’re here to talk?”

  “Well, I mean …” He lifted his shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. “There’s a chance I might accidentally kiss you while we’re talking.” She laughed again, and he pushed one hand through his hair. “Look, I could try to play this cool. Pretend I have all the time in the world to figure out if you’re really interested in me while I act as though I may or may no
t be interested in you. But I don’t want to do that. I’d rather just tell you how much I like you and that I don’t want to waste any moment I could be spending right next to you.”

  A blush heated Ridley’s face, then quickly spread out across her entire body. Was that possible? For her whole body to blush? And why couldn’t she think of a single thing to say? Why couldn’t she even look at him?

  Stop being so silly and shy, she told herself, forcing her eyes back up to meet his. This is just Archer.

  She exhaled slowly before shifting over on the bed to make space for him beside her. He closed her door, then crossed the room and sat, facing her, on top of the duvet. She was grateful he didn’t get beneath the covers. Her heart was pounding fast enough just inviting him closer. Having him climb into bed with her would have been crossing another line she wasn’t ready for yet.

  “You’re good, you know that?” she said quietly.

  He lifted one hand and gently brushed her hair away from her face and behind her ear. “This isn’t an act. That’s what I’m trying to say. Life is so brief. There isn’t time for games. If I feel something for you, then I should tell you. So this is me telling you. You know,” he added as his lips curled up on one side, “in case it wasn’t obvious from all the kissing earlier.”

  “Good thing you cleared that up,” she said. “Here I was thinking you kiss all your friends like that.”

  He grinned. “Do you kiss your friends like that?”

  Waving goodbye to the shy version of herself, she gripped the front of his T-shirt and pulled him closer. “Can I show you how I don’t kiss my friends?”

  Their lips met as Archer pushed his fingers through her damp hair. She felt his hand curl into a fist at the nape of her neck, tugging her hair just the tiniest bit as he pulled her closer. Her hand let go of his T-shirt and slid up and around his neck. She tasted toothpaste as his tongue trailed over hers, and as the kiss deepened, a new heat grew inside her. His lips moved to the side of her mouth and along her jaw, and his five o’clock shadow lightly grazed her cheek. “I thought you only wanted to talk,” he whispered as his lips reached her ear.

  Ridley let out a breath of laughter. “I changed my mind. This is so much better.” She turned her head to find his lips again, breathing in the scent of whatever ten-year-old hotel shampoo he’d used. She might be biased and not exactly thinking straight, but in her opinion, it smelled incredible. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, pressing so close that she thought it might be possible she could feel both her heartbeat and his thudding against her chest.

  She wasn’t sure exactly how or when it happened, but somehow they were both lying down side by side, legs entangled, Archer’s hands pressing into her back and hers trailing through his hair. Her thoughts were a tangled, intoxicated blur, and nothing mattered outside of this moment. A moment she could lose herself in forever. It was only when Archer’s hands brushed the skin beneath the edge of her pajama top and traced their way up her spine that a hint of alarm broke through her drunken state.

  “Just so you know,” she said breathlessly before he could get any ideas about removing articles of her clothing, “this is as far as things are going tonight.”

  He paused, his eyes opening as he pulled his head back slightly. “Oh, of course, I know. I wasn’t expecting—I mean, that’s not why I came to your room.” In the dim, flickering light provided by the magic and lightning outside her window, Ridley could make out the flush rising in his cheeks.

  “Archer Davenport,” she said with a wicked grin. “Did I actually manage to make you blush?”

  “Ridley Kayne,” he answered. He softly kissed her lips before saying, “Did I actually manage to make you lose control of your magic?”

  “What?” Her heart skipped a beat as she moved her gaze to her hands and arms, but they appeared normal. There was no glow rising from her skin. She smacked his arm. “You did not.”

  “Your eyes are magic blue.”

  “My eyes are always blue.”

  “No, I mean they’re glowing.”

  She looked down immediately, hoping her eyelids would hide most of the glow. Did this really have to happen now? Why couldn’t she just enjoy kissing Archer without part of her body lighting up like a magic-mutated animal freak from the wastelands?

  “And your lips,” Archer said quietly, raising his forefinger and brushing it gently along her lower lip in a way that made goosebumps rush across her skin and butterflies come to life in her stomach. “And your cheeks, which I’m going to take to mean that you’re blushing too.”

  She groaned and covered her face with both hands. “I’m sorry.”

  “Why?” He pulled her hands away and laid one gentle kiss on each of her eyelids. “I told you before that your magic is beautiful. Didn’t you believe me?”

  “No, of course not. It’s looks so weird when—”

  “It does not look weird.”

  She tried to pull away from him, but he shifted his position so he was partly on top of her, pinning her down in a way that made the butterflies go crazy in her stomach again. “I have no idea why you think being made of magic makes you ugly. You have no idea how exotically—” he kissed her jaw “—entrancingly—” a kiss on her nose “—captivatingly—” and a kiss on her lips “—beautiful it is.”

  She shook her head and tried not to roll her eyes. “Well, how can I not believe you when you use so many adjectives?”

  “Exactly. I must be telling the truth.”

  Okay, so maybe she believed that he thought it was beautiful, but that didn’t mean she wanted to become a glowing beacon for anyone who happened to be out in the storm to see through her window. She let out a long, steadying breath and asked, “Is it gone? The glowing?”

  Archer turned his lips down in disappointment. “Yes, it’s gone.”

  “Okay, look,” she said with a teasing smile, “if the only reason you want me is because of my magic, then—”

  He took her face between his hands and pressed a lingering kiss against her mouth. “I definitely want more than just your magic,” he whispered against her lips.

  Heat curled low in her belly, and her mind filled with the kinds of thoughts that made her face burn. She bit her lip and pushed him away before she could do anything crazy. “Okay, time to slow down.”

  He chuckled as he rolled onto his back. “Hey, I just came in here to talk. You’re the one who decided to show me how you don’t kiss your—”

  “Oh, whatever,” she protested with a laugh. “I was not fooled by your talking excuse.” She shifted closer, crossed her arms on his chest, and leaned her chin on her hands. Her eyes traveled his face as she gave her heart time to calm down. While her body may have wanted more, the sensible part of her brain that remembered just how inexperienced she was compared to Archer—and that her father was two rooms away, for goodness’ sake—was relieved that nothing more was happening. For now, she was content to lie here and listen to the rain and stare into Archer’s captivating dark eyes while he traced lazy patterns up and down her back.

  Her heart couldn’t possibly return to a normal pace though. Not with him looking at her like that, his eyes brushing over every inch of her face, making her feel as if she were the only thing in his world. But even as the thought warmed her insides, a tiny, insecure voice reminded her of his reputation and the number of girls she’d seen him with over the years. If he had a habit of moving on quickly, then wasn’t it likely he would move on quickly from her too? But he had changed. He wasn’t the same person he’d been at school. Did that mean he’d changed in all areas of his life, or were there some things that would always be the same for a person like Archer Davenport?

  “I thought about you a lot while I was away,” he said softly, almost as if he could hear her uncertain thoughts and wanted to reassure her.

  “Liar,” she snorted. She raised her head from his chest. “I bet you didn’t think of me at all until you suddenly needed a birthday present for your mom las
t week and decided, for some reason, to go antique shopping.”

  “And what do you think that reason was?”

  “Uh … because your mom already owns everything that was made within the last century?”

  “Because I wanted to see you, silly girl.”

  She laughed quietly. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that.”

  “It’s the truth,” he said, and there was no teasing in his gaze. “Before I got lost on the side of a mountain and found an elemental community, you were the only one I knew of. After I saw what they could do, the way magic came from their own bodies instead of just the environment, I kept thinking back to you. To that moment so many years ago when you accidentally used your own magic while you were in our home.” He brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. “I wondered if you knew what you were. I wondered if you could do the things those other elementals could do, turning yourself to fire or air with just a thought. So … I don’t know. By the time I got back, I was curious, and I wanted to see you. It was stupid, of course. I already had that agreement with your father that I wouldn’t get you involved in any way, so it’s not like I was planning to actually talk to you about elementals and your magic. But … yeah. I just couldn’t stay away.”

  Ridley tilted her head to the side. “So you were honestly thinking about me while you were away? There wasn’t some other exotic elemental woman who captured your attention?”

  He opened his mouth, paused, then said, “Okay, I’ll be honest: there was someone.”

  Ridley nodded and tried to keep her smile in place, but it scared her to realize how much it hurt when he spoke about someone else.

  “But it wasn’t like that for very long,” Archer added quickly. “I was in this weird space. I wanted to change, but I was still the old me—the one who didn’t think he was worth anything if he didn’t have at least three girls pining after him. She was kind to me, and pretty, so I sort of directed all my attention toward her from the start. But she was already in a committed relationship, and she made it clear that there would never be anything between us. She was still friendly though. Still happy to explain things to me. We soon became good friends, and I realized I was happy to just be me, on my own, without basking in the attention of girls who probably only wanted to be with me because I’m a Davenport. So, in the end, whenever I cast my mind back toward Lumina City, along with my parents and Lilah, you were always somewhere there in my thoughts. My only other point of reference when it came to elementals.”